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Mar 19, 2023·edited Mar 19, 2023Pinned

Oh gosh, have I got a treat for you?! 🥳

The fabulous Medha Murtagh of 'Great Things' - https://greatthings.substack.com - has sent me a cartoon of my squirrel encounter, which I've added to my post for you to enjoy.

Thank you, Medha - I'm beyond thrilled! ♥️⭐️🐿️⭐️♥️

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Mar 18, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

The precious sighting of a red squirrels. I always took them for granted growing up in Southern Germany. When we were in Canada I was fascinated by black squirrels, they are so cheeky and look so odd. And of course the tame chipmunks at the house of friend’s grandparents. He trained them each year to come for peanuts

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I wish we had red squirrels in Carolina, but it's greys all the way. Too, too many of them. Your post has inspired me to write one on our bold, marauding greys, Rebecca. A wonderful story from your trip to the island.

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It’s funny you posted about this, because very recently my partner and I were discussing red squirrels and grey squirrels. We’d only ever seen red ones growing up, and the greys seemed to be a sudden incursion. So we looked it up and we think they just expanded their range a bit north to find us. Where I live, there are tons of squirrels both red and grey, many of which live in my backyard without any encouragement or bird feeders from me! Shortly after I moved here, I heard something running about, and was kind of freaked out - what if it was a mouse? Which seemed silly, since I live in an attic apartment. After gathering my wits and glasses, I walked around the whole place, and then finally poked my nose out the window. Three grey squirrels were racing each other all over the roof of the house!

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I think it's so humbling when we get to see the precious living things in the world - in the wild. The reds are beautiful and it's good to see that there are pockets - islands and such - where the populations can be protected and can grow.

I'm assuming that Squirrel Nutkin was a red squirrel? He certainly looks it in my very aged edition of the story. You mentioned your grandmother's sympathetic garden in the Lake District and of course I immediately thought of Beatrix Potter.

Thank you for sharing your experience.

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Beautiful photos! Mostly gray squirrels here in the NE United States, but we do get the occasional black squirrels. Bless the Victorians, they couldn't leave well enough alone.

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Great story Rebecca! I’ve only seen the red squirrels 🐿️ from a distance, and you had them literally eating out of your hand!! I’m very impressed! Of course the greys are what I grew up with and they do have a deserved reputation for being a bully. Although I’ve always secretly admired their gutsy behaviour....You’ve done a wonderful job capturing all those wildland behaviours we cherish. Thanks for another treat!

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Mar 18, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

Oh, I wish we had red squirrels in Ny! The gray ones feel like an invasive species here too!

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Mar 18, 2023·edited Mar 18, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

My personal battle against grey squirrels has been one of the defining conflicts of my adult life. (Another sign of privilege, I know.) It has been a daily parry and thrust of positioning the bird feeders just so, and aligning those strategic locations with my many anti-squirrel defenses (baffles, cages, tricky perches that won’t hold a squirrel’s weight, food they don’t like). Often I’ll step out into the back porch to adjust the ramparts while a grey berates me from the rooftop. Squirrel exclusion requires constant vigilance! But they’re allowed to feed off the ground under the feeders. I’m not heartless.

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yup, I’ll confess to a little gray squirrel watching myself ... and to trying to foil them from getting after the bird seed, the little bastards

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I live in the U.S., so it was fascinating to learn about and see photos of red squirrels. I also didn't realize the grey squirrels here were an invasive species there. Plenty of people here don't like squirrels because they eat from bird feeders, but I have fun watching squirrels chase each other, eat, and bury or dig up nuts at the park.

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Mar 18, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

Someone in our neighborhood feeds the gray squirrels peanuts in the shell. They immediately run to MY yard ( why why why?) to dig up a flower pot and bury their treasure. Then they come back every day to dig up the pot again to make sure the nut is still there. Every day I find a ripped out geranium or viola lying on the gravel path and have to repot it. They are so bold, they run back and forth along my porch railing as if to taunt me. Oh, who cares! There is room for all of us. Thanks so much for the sweetest story ever and inspiring photos, Rebecca

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Aw, your red squirrels are adorable! I love both varieties, but I never realized we have a red squirrel here in NY until recently because they’re also somewhat rare, but I’ve been seeing them around more lately which I take as a good sign. (We also have flying squirrels, but I haven’t been lucky enough to see them in the wild yet :-)

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Loved reading about your encounters! The birdsong clip was simply beautiful and soothing and now I’m trying to figure out how to download and loop it for my nap.🤣 The photos of your red squirrels were fascinating to me because of those furry ears--so odd, yet adorable! We have mostly greys here, but for the last couple of years we’ve seen a “blonde” one (I have no idea why it is this color) and a grey one with a blonde tail. We’ve wondered if someone opened a beauty salon for vermin around here. While I enjoy watching their behavior, I don’t want any squirrel getting too close. To me they are rats with bushy tails!

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Mar 18, 2023Liked by Rebecca Holden

I’m new here. Just wanted to thank you for an enjoyable read. So cold over there! I’m in Australia where there are no squirrels or chipmunks but plenty of birds thankfully. And lots of lovely warm weather. (Although today’s predicted top of 36 degrees C is probably a tad too warm.). Hugs from afar. 🤗🤗😘

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Great post Rebecca! I enjoyed the photos and the birdsong clip.

Here in Florida we have the Eastern gray squirrel. They can be fascinating creatures. A few times I've just sat and watched them for a long time. It's peaceful. You wonder what they are thinking.

I'm surprised the one squirrel came so close to you but then again, I'm not surprised. As you said, they are used to humans.

Where I currently live, there is a small preserve with trees. The surrounding area has some sidewalks with trees. The squirrels are always on the grass foraging for food. When I walk down the sidewalk, sometimes they are on the sidewalk and they don't move and I have to come to a complete stop. I have to admit that I talk to them. I'm not crazy, by the way. But just to tell them, "Are you going to move?" or "Come on move."

When I had my house, a squirrel was particularly smart on how to get into the bird feeder to get the food. Even when I put it onto a metal rod that was in the ground and away from a tree, he ran up the branches of the tree and leaped to the feeder.

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